Hooligan

One year on , many rods, five year on most of the Team series rods, limited lifetime on Steez, Fuego, and Zillion. They're very specific on their warranty and service page about who to contact. http://www.daiwa.com/Service/

Supposedly, it's his new bait from SPRO. Doesn't look anything like the pictures I've seen, but it isn't really in focus either.

Any ideas? I've seen them all across the board and not sure where it really ought to be.

Shad Shape Worm is my #1 DS bait, far and away. I rarely use anything else unless it's a very specific case.

Most of the "Big ones" he's been with from day one. He was Nitro, Bass Pro, Strike King, and Quantum the whole way. I don't recall even minor changes in his sponsor roster through the years.

Supposedly American Tackle Titans. That's purely conjecture and hearsay, however.

The braid is supposed to make PP look positively antiquated. It's the first braid with REAL abrasion resistance. I've spoken to a small handful of people that have experienced it firsthand, and the results seem positive. Though, I'm a little buggered, they claimed it was JDM release!

The JM Signature 2 reels are fine reels. They don't compare to the Curado for one primary reason: Longevity. The reel is under a year old and sees a tremendous number of returns and is amongst the highest of warranty service claims. I think that once the kinks are worked out of the Korean facility that produces the reels some of that will go away. Of the 2-3 JM reels I've given a shot I've had to completely break them down and service them in order to get anything close to the casting distance of my Shimano reels; at that I still get an additional 20-30 feet from my other reels. One thing I do like my JM reels for is moving baits. I fish a couple on square bill rods and that's where they excel.

Marc- Caould you PM me with some price info? I need to have some 1.5 through 3.5 painted as well as some jerkbaits. I really like a few patterns of yours that you've posted, mostly the one that I'm after. Give me a shout if you get the chance.

Not that I want to be accused of being one of the "Posse", but what RW said is pretty dead on. One's a Shimano, and there's one that is something else.

It's a poor copy, at best. The XF JMS rod is far softer than the Cumara, in all actuality it ranks a moderate fast by comparison. Decent rod, but not in the same ballgame, let alone field.

Should be fine. I used to pull my Triton 20 with a 4 door Chevy Blazer with a 4.3 and 3.73 rear. No issues at all, and I pulled that thing a LOT of miles.

Oh Glenn, you're killing me. I heard Airrus had some serious stuff in the pipeline, if you will, and am told that the future of the industry is here. It will be super interesting to see if the technology advances across the board. Shimano has a couple up their sleeve, so I'm told, as well.

This, but in a Chronarch 51Mg.

SPro are worth every penny, as are DT series if you're in open water. If you're banging on structure the Bomber baits and Lucky Craft RC series are great. I love, love, love LC and Megabass cranks, as well as YoZuri when I can find the Hardcore.

Jay, it isn't necessarily about being parabolic or fast, slow, moderate, Med, med heavy, or heavy. It's about having enough flex in the rod blank as a whole to protect your trebles. By comparison, the Crankin' Stick is considered to be a rather fast taper, but it is still built in a manner that it is going to soak up that bait and the entire blank is going to load. Far and away my favourite crank rods are Cumara Reactions. I've got four or five in the series and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. They're lighter and better performing than any E-glass or composite that I've thrown, and they are so easy to manage through an entire day of cranking. It's hard to understand that a Fast action Graphite could have a gentle enough taper to cast 6XD Strike Kings and RC 3.5 XTra all day without feeling it at all. Not to mention not having a single fish come unpinned on you. Don't be fooled about having the rod be Fast, or XFast. The 7-10 MH XF Crankin stick is one of the best "all purpose" crankbait rods on the market currently. It's got reasonable quality in components and it has a very good feel. It isn't going to be the same as a Dobyns or a Cumara, but it will perform its job very well.

Keep in mind it is Spinning only, not for use on bait casters because of the diameter. It would likely be fine on a Pixy or Scorpion, but not on most reels.

Not being a schmuck in intent or practice with these, just posting them.

Used to use them a lot before I discovered better baits.

Short answer yes, you'll notice tremendous difference. Long drawn-out answer is too long and drawn out right now as I am heading out the door. (BPS Crank Stick is a primarily graphite composite with basalt fiber as well. and a darned fine rod for the money.)

Tatsu 8,12,15,20 Toray Bawo 10,14,16 SilverThread AN40 for Topwater/Jerks 10 Momoi Braid 50lb 832Braid 50lb CXX 15lb XPS Fluoro in everything from 6-20 Dollar for nickel, I'm finding the XPS to be as suitable as anything in terms of value. Tatsu is without a doubt the finest fluorocarbon I've fished. Bawo has excellent attributes, braid sucks and only use it for frogs and punching. So there.

I can't load the site right now, they're maintaining it, or unbreaking it The link has them as the tourney special, I'm assuming that they're the ones in the dump bin? If that's so, upsize and replace the hooks.

I think you've already touched on one thing that is key: water levels. Green fish do not do well in constantly fluctuating levels. I also think that in the early 1990 time frame they began to manage the lake for other species more intensely. There are still some great fish in Truman, and there's great fishing but it is far more inconsistent than it has been in the past. Historically, we could cound on a three day weight of at least 40, now, 30 is winning those same three days. Many clubs, organizations, and Trails have stopped fishing Truman because of the issues it's had in recent years with water levels. Truman will always be one of my favorite fisheries because of the way it fishes. I remember many, many days of cranking the Pomme arm and positively slamming fish on the flats. Now, that's all whites and hybrids. I have to feel like the management strategy for the lake has had a great effect on the green fish, more than any other factor. In realizing that the COE is the determining factor in water levels and what they're going to do, MO DNR was forced to go with a strategy that allowed them to deal with the fluctuations and still manage a really good fishery. Whites and Wipers are what they have to do that with. I'd love to see it come back to it's Glory of being a premier Midwestern Bass fishery, but sadly don't think that it will.

They've given you a ton of lakes already. The Ashland area holds some phenomenal fisheries, as does Superior. Learn to fish Superior smallies and you'll never go anywhere else. Chequamegon Bay consistently produces some of the top smallies in the world, and they do it in a BIG fashion. Don't underestimate the rivers and the reservoirs north of Duluth, either; Rice, Island, Grand, Fish, and Boulder all harbor fine populations of fish, fish that are easily had, too. If you're strictly after green fish, there are a lot of waters that are in the NW area of the Cheesehead state that are well worth it. Eau Claire lakes, Upper St Croix, and others are within driving distance for you.

Keep in mind, with abrasion resistance relating to leader material or wind on leader, you're talking about material that is 4-7 times as hard as what we most often relate to in fluorocarbons. In most situations, the abrasion we see in lines is due in part to the lines we fish being softer, much softer, in the first place. If you use a true leader material, don't forget to tie supremely excellent knots. Make each and every one the best you've ever tied, if you will. It's so much harder and if it does get a bad knot will pop instantly. Take great care in working with it and it will treat you very well.